Chelsea's new look XI to RETAIN the Champions League title

Chelsea have officially broken their duck and claimed the Champions League trophy, but as the hangover wears off from Saturday's celebration, the Blues need to start thinking about how they can stay at the top of the European pile. As teams like Porto, Liverpool and Inter have found out the hard way in recent years, if you don't strengthen your squad quickly after lifting the cup with the big ears, you can slip down the ladder just as fast. talkSPORT look at the players Chelsea need to retain the Champions League....

Why?
Salomon Kalou's Chelsea career has been stop-start at best, and with the Ivorian heading for the door this summer, Chelsea are chasing a massive upgrade in the form of Eden Hazard. The Belgian international is one of the most-wanted players in Europe, and judging by the hints he's been dropping lately, it looks like either Chelsea or Manchester City are most likely to land him. With Chelsea winning the Champions League, the Blues can now offer Hazard the chance to defend the biggest trophy in European club football, a useful bargaining chip when trying to out-muscle City. For Hazard's part, his goals, vision and unpredictability would offer Chelsea something completely different from what they currently have in attack.

Why?
Jose Bosingwa has been a brilliant servant to Chelsea, but as he advances in years the Portuguese has become more of a squad player than a guaranted starter. Bosingwa has never been the best at creating danger going forward, and with Chelsea still chasing someone in the Dani Alves mould, Van der Wiel is the closest available thing to the Brazilian. The Dutch international's departure from Ajax is long overdue, and after negotiations broke down with Valencia, Chelsea may yet be able to snap him up before someone else notices. Van der Wiel is deadly when running at pace, and if he can add a touch more defensive focus to his already sharpened positional awareness, he could challenge to be one of the best right-sided defenders in the world.

Why?
Despite his brief resurgence this year, it doesn't look like Fernando Torres will be trusted with the weight of carrying Chelsea's attack on his shoulders, especially if the Spaniard's comments to the press in the aftermath of the Munich final are to be believed. Chelsea may want to cut their losses and consign Torres to the bin of expensive mistakes, and instead opt for the deadliest finisher around. As we detailed here, Atletico Madrid's dire financial situation may force them to sell Radamel Falcao after only one season. Chelsea have both the money and now the trophy to lure his services, and after all, why go to a European work in progress with City when you can come to the champions of Europe? It's a compelling argument that the Colombian may find difficult to refuse.

Why?
Despite his heroics this year, Didier Drogba's Chelsea career looks like it's coming to a close, with the Ivorian departing on the romantic image of scoring the goal that won Chelsea their first European Cup. Instead of trying to do the impossible and replace him with a carbon copy, Chelsea may be better off looking for something different but equally deadly. Gonzalo Higuain is known to be fed up with his lack of playing time at Real Madrid, and he could be the perfect fit for Chelsea's revamped strike force. Higuain has bags of skill and can finish as well as anyone, and a prospective partnership of the Argentine alongside Falcao would surely bring barrels of goals with flair in abundance.

Why?
Before Chelsea fans lose the plot, we're not saying Frank Lampard should be off-loaded immediately, but with the Blues icon entering the twilight of his career, it's time for the next Chelsea manager to succeed where AVB failed and begin to gradually bed in a Lampard replacement. It's no secret that Luka Modric flirted with Chelsea last summer, and now that Spurs have no possibility of playing in the Champions League this year, the Croatian is thought to be rekindling his desire to move across London. Modric would need time to adjust to his new team, and playing alongside Lampard, then eventually replacing him would be a much more fruitful strategy than making Villas-Boas' mistake of dropping the England international too soon.

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Would these players be your choice to replace Chelsea's Champions League veterans? Let us know below...